Liandrin Guirale
| lastappeared= | lastmentioned= | living=kod |birth = 964 NE}}Liandrin Guirale (pronounced: lee-AHN-drihn) is an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah, and secretly a member of the Black Ajah. , Liandrin Guirale|twotc LG}} Appearance and Personality Liandrin has dark brown eyes and honey-colored hair, which she wears in a multitude of thin beaded braids. She is pretty with a face bearing doll-like features and a rosebud mouth. She is selfish and cunning, willing to use manipulation or intimidation tactics to get what she wants. Liandrin deliberately behaves and speaks like upper crust Taraboners. However, when angry she will sometimes lapse into the more vulgar dialect she spoke during her commoner upbringing. Strength and Abilities Liandrin is well skilled in the One Power by Aes Sedai standards. Her ability on the Power Strength Scale is equivalent to 14(2). This level of strength once placed her in position of great political advantage in the White Tower. Liandrin has developed a minor Talent with Compulsion which she frequently uses to manipulate others to forward selfish personal agendas. She is very weak in healing, and is frequently jealous of those who can kill directly with the power; a skill tightly linked with healing. Though she first learned to channel on her own as a girl, she does not consider herself a wilder and loathes them. History ]] Liandrin was born in 964 NE in Tarabon to parents in poverty. Her father possessed no trade skills or special abilities and was reduced to selling fruit from a wheelbarrow to support his family. Liandrin grew up envious of anyone with power or rank and sought at an early age to escape her meager life and gain status for herself. She was born with the Spark, and as a young girl she first learned she could channel when she unwittingly developed a Weave of Compulsion that forced others to do her bidding; a skill she referred to as "opening people" to her suggestions. Though useful, the weave was flawed and frequently hurt its target, causing victims to feel stabbing pains of agony in their minds if used too aggressively. Emboldened by her talent and driven by a greed for advancement she began to dream of a day she might become an Aes Sedai and join the ranks of the fabled Black Ajah. In 979 NE, at the age of sixteen and one year after she first learned to channel, her strength in the power became undeniable and so she traveled to Tar Valon. After spending five years as a novice and five more as Accepted, she was raised to the shawl in 989 NE. She publicly joined the Red Ajah and soon after swearing the Three Oaths she covertly joined the Black Ajah, forswore those oaths, and passed through a secret black ceremony where she became bound to entirely new oaths to the cabal. Activities Searching for Rand In the summer of 998NE Liandrin was summoned to Shayol Ghul and there attended the Darkfriend Social where she was given public instructions to hunt for Rand al'Thor, Matrim Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara as well as secret directives to be carried out in the White Tower. Soon afterwards Liandrin traveled to Fal Dara as one of the Red Ajah representatives in the Amyrlin Seat's entourage. While there she became aware of the presence of Rand al'Thor and used her Compulsion Talent to force Amalisa Jagad to search for him. Later she discovered Rand in the Fal Dara dungeons and immediately attempted to compel Rand to obey her; an attack Rand was able to resist through sheer willpower and at great agony until Liandrin was interrupted by Moiraine Damodred. She subsequently lost track of Rand and was forced to resume her duties in the Amyrlin's entourage. On the journey back to Tar Valon she grudgingly gave a channeling lesson to Nynaeve al'Meara and Egwene al'Vere. However, she taught little and spent far more time trying to intimidate the two young women into answering questions about Rand, Mat, and Perrin. Betrayal and Flight from the Tower In the fall of 998 NE she approached Nynaeve and Egwene, with the claim that Rand was in grave danger and needed their help. After insisting on absolute secrecy she convinced the two young women to sneak out of the White Tower, but was overheard by Elayne and Min through a hole in Egwene's chamber, and after convincing Nynaeve and Egwene to let them join, the four traveled to the Tar Valon grove where they entered a Waygate and journeyed through the Ways to Toman Head. When they emerged, Liandrin betrayed all four to The High Lady Suroth; leading to Nynaeve and Elayne fleeing for their lives, Egwene being made Damane, and Min being beaten and nearly killed. After threatening Suroth in response to the High Lady's aggressive posture towards her, Liandrin returned to the Ways and journeyed back to Tar Valon. Shortly after she returned to the White Tower it became clear that the four young women had escaped from the Seanchan. It was at this time that Liandrin was given new instructions and, with the help of twelve other Black Ajah sisters, carried out her orders by stealing several ter'angreal from Tower storerooms. Liandrin then fled Tar Valon with this group of women. In the process of doing so her group was responsible for killing twenty-one people, including three Aes Sedai and two warders. Schemes in Tear Unbeknownst to either Liandrin or her followers, their instructions were being issued to them by the Forsaken Ishamael who intended for them to travel to Tear and swear loyalty to Be'lal who was forming a trap to capture the Dragon Reborn. Liandrin and her followers took up residence in the Stone of Tear where they began to experiment with the Ter'angreal they had stolen; the majority of which were intended to interface with Tel'aran'rhiod. Liandrin also awaited the arrival of Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene, who she knew were seeking to bring Liandrin to justice and who she intended to capture as a part of Be'lal's schemes. While experimenting in Tel'aran'rhiod, Liandrin became aware of Egwene's presence at one point and smiled mockingly at her. Liandrin did not know the precise day when her pursuers arrived in Tear, but she eventually learned of a Thief-catcher named Juilin Sandar who was attempting to locate her and her followers. Liandrin captured Juilin and compelled him to lead her to the home of a local Wise Woman. It was there that Liandrin, Rianna Andomeran, and Joiya Byir shielded and bludgeoned Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene with weaves of air until they were totally subdued. Liandrin lead the entire group back to the Stone of Tear where her victims were imprisoned as bait for Be'lal to use against Rand. Unfortunately for Liandrin, Be'lal was killed in a subsequent encounter with Rand and Moiraine, two of her followers were captured by Egwene, and the Stone of Tear itself fell to a surprise assault by Aiel. With her plans in disarray, Liandrin and her ten remaining followers fled. Revelations in Tanchico Prior to fleeing Tear, Liandrin and Temaile Kinderode discussed something that Liandrin had recently learned; specifically that somewhere in her former home Tanchico existed a device that could bind Rand al'Thor to their will. She did not know the exact specifics of what the artifact was, but she had learned enough to know that it was dangerous not just to a male channeler, but also to the person attempting to control him. Liandrin's conversation was overheard by Amico Nagoyin who later divulged it to Egwene, Nynaeve, & Elayne during an interrogation. After the fall of the Stone of Tear Liandrin and her ten remaining followers made haste to Tanchico where they were given instructions to locate the device for use in binding and controlling Rand al'Thor. The object the women were seeking was in fact a male A'dam known more commonly as a Domination Band, though none of them knew this nor where it could be found. Upon arrival in Tanchico the group took up residence in the city's easternmost peninsula at the palatial estate of a Darkfriend merchant sworn to the Great Lord. Liandrin then started pressing Eldrith Jhondar, a former Brown Ajah sister, to conduct research in the king's library to better understand what they were searching for. Much to Liandrin's frustration, Eldrith was only able to determine that their goal was somewhere in the Panarch's Palace and that it was likely a Ter'angreal. Knowing she had to take control of the palace to achieve her goal, Liandrin sought out Jaichim Carridin who she knew to be a Darkfriend who had secretly attended the Darkfriend Social. After pacifying Jaichim she discerned that he believed her to be an assassin; come to murder him for failing to carry out his own directives. Using this revelation as leverage, Liandrin forced Carridin to agree to use his force of Children of the Light to occupy and hold the Panarch's Palace long enough for her followers to search for their goal. Liandrin subsequently moved into the palace where she captured the newly installed Panarch Amathera Lounault and handed her over to Temaile to be used as a plaything for her sadism. However, unbeknownst to Liandrin, the time it had taken her to determine where the a'dam was located had allowed Elayne Trakand and Nynaeve al'Meara to catch up with her as they sought to steal the artifact for themselves. Furthermore, Liandrin had failed to realize that her activities had been monitored by the Forsaken Moghedien who had been using all of the black sisters as pawns to forward her own mysterious goals. Moghedien and Nynaeve would eventually encounter each other in the palace and engage in a titanic channeling duel which was immediately sensed by Liandrin who dispatched Jeaine Caide to deal with the threat. Jeaine attacked Nynaeve while wielding one of the stolen ter'angreal from the tower storerooms; a device described as producing uncontrollable Balefire. In the ensuing chaos Jeaine caused, Nynaeve escaped with the male a'dam, large portions of the palace came crashing down, and a riot erupted in the streets of Tanchico. With her plans once again in disarray, Liandrin was forced to flee the palace in failure. Subjugated by Moghedien Now adrift and without purpose, Liandrin determined that neither she nor her followers could safely remain in Tanchico and so fled the region. They traveled to the east and sheltered in Amador at the house of another Darkfriend merchant; a man named Jorin Arene. Jorin initially objected to Liandrin's group occupying his home until Liandrin had Temaile torture him into submission. Afterwards Linadrin began the task of reaching out to the Supreme Council in the White Tower for new instructions. In short order Liandrin learned that Siuan Sanche had been deposed and that Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan had become the Amyrlin Seat. She also quickly noted that since this change in power had occurred, no new instructions seemed to be coming from the tower. Even so, she continued to reach out to the White Tower daily until she returned one day to Jorin Arene's estate to find her followers bound by deep Compulsion with Moghedien directing them. Initially mistaking the Forsaken for a servant, Liandrin's reaction was hostile. Moghedien quickly subjugated her however, expressing to Liandrin how weak and pathetic she was in comparison to the Forsaken's vast knowledge and far greater strength. Moghedien then dared Liandrin to attack her, stating that she knew Liandrin would try on her own eventually and that she wanted Liandrin to learn immediately how truly weak she was. Liandrin stated that she would not attempt such a betrayal but the moment she thought the Forsaken's guard was down she deviously tried to do exactly that. Moghedien effortlessly parried the attack before subjecting Liandrin to extreme anguish and temporally placed a weave of true Compulsion upon her before removing it again. Cowed into submission, Liandrin accepted her new status as a minion to Moghedien though in secret she decided to wait until a time when the Forsaken might become weakened when she would strike again. Liandrin's moment came two weeks later when Moghedien pursued and attacked Nynaeve al'Meara and Birgitte Silverbow in Tel'aran'rhiod. In the ensuing struggle Moghedien was shot by Birgitte and grievously wounded through the chest; an injury which carried over into the real world upon waking. The Forsaken immediately forced herself upon Liandrin's black sisters demanding healing from Chesmal Emry. Seeing the moment of weakness she had been waiting for Liandrin chose the instant to attack the Forsaken. Embracing Saidar she channeled a Compulsion attack at Moghedien with every ounce of strength she had, coupled with the additional knowledge of compulsion she had puzzled out, and hurled the attack as strong as she possibly could. Even as she did, Saidar seemed to fill Moghedien like a flood. Liandrin's assault died as the source was shielded from her and she was subsequently slammed against a wall by flows of air. Moghedien decided at that point that Liandrin required severe punishment. She tied off Liandrin's shield with an inverted weave outlandishly complex; such that no female channeler of lesser skill could ever unravel it even if they could detect it through the inversion. Moghedien then forced Compulsion upon Liandrin with one simple directive: To Live. Knowing that a Compulsion directive reinforcing what a victim already wants to do will hold for a lifetime, Moghedien allowed Liandrin to anticipate the anguish of knowing the inverted tied-off shield would never allow her to channel again; effectively stilling her. Broken and weeping, Liandrin was handed over to Temaile for torture. Moghedien also forced the remaining Black Ajah sisters to witness Liandrin's suffering at Temaile's hands in order to demonstrate the price of failure to them. Some time later, Liandrin began a new career laboring as a scullery girl for Amellia Arene and Evon. Moghedien subsequently departed the Arene estate leaving behind instructions for the remaining sisters to carry out. Obedient to the Foresaken's orders to await her return, the black sisters hid on the Arene estate through a series of riots and a mob invasion by followers of The Prophet of the Dragon. Eventually driven by fear and a growing certainty that Moghedien had forgotten them, the black sisters fled the estate. Thus it came to pass that the group of Black Ajah sisters who once implicitly obeyed Liandrin's commands without question, abandoned her to an uncertain fate in a wartorn land. Enslaved by Suroth Following the Seanchan invasion of Amadicia, the region was conquered by the Ever Victorious Army and the Arene estate was occupied. Due to the inverted shield placed upon her, Liandrin was not immediately identified as a Channeler to be made Damane. Once she realized this, Liandrin attempted to betray her captors as darkfriends in the hope that she might escape. This plan only succeeded in making her a Seanchan prisoner and she was subsequently presented to the High Lady Suroth. Remembering her from their prior encounter on Toman Head Suroth elected to acquire Liandrin as personal property despite secretly knowing that Liandrin could channel. Thus Liandrin became da'covale to be enslaved within Suroth's household. In this capacity she was garbed in nearly transparent white robes with delicate slippers and made to follow Suroth while carrying the High Lady's personal effects. Liandrin was also required to obey the directives of Alwhin, Suroth's So'jhin and Voice of the Blood. During Rand al'Thor's military campaign to reclaim Seanchan-conquered territory in Altara, Suroth met in the field with Captain-General Kennar Miraj to discuss strategy. Liandrin was forced to accompany Suroth to this meeting and carry the High Lady's ornate writing desk. Liandrin's bitterness in her demeaning role was obvious to Miraj, who noted her frequent scowls, glaring sulkiness, and open resistance to obeying commands from Alwhin. These things were known also to Suroth and she took pleasure in them by intentionally stroking Liandrin's braided hair in front of Miraj as one might do with a favored pet. Alwhin obtained her position because she knew too much about the secrets of the High Lady. So Liandrin later poisoned Alwhin, trying to please Suroth. Instead the High Lady was not pleased because the poisoning brought the attention of the Seekers for Truth. Later Liandrin informs Suroth that Lunal Galgan has arrived and wishes to see her. Suroth sends Liandrin away to Rosala to be beaten because of her poor behaviour. Suroth also considered that the time has arrived for Liandrin to be collared, because her presence spreads rumours about a marath'damane circulating free in her household. With Suroth's fall, Liandrin's fate is unknown. See also * Liandrin's Group of Black Sisters Category:POV character Category:Damane Category:High Ranking Aes Sedai Category:Sparkers Category:Slaves Category:Channelers Category:Aes Sedai